Missouri Voters Sue to Block GOP Gerrymander Until Referendum Vote

Missourians filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a court to stop the state from using its new congressional map until voters have the chance to approve or reject the measure in a referendum. 

It’s the latest development in an escalating battle over a string of efforts by GOP state officials to place hurdles in the way of the referendum over the gerrymander.

Missouri lawmakers passed a gerrymandered congressional map in September at President Donald Trump’s behest. Missouri is one of three GOP-controlled states that redrew maps this year to help Republicans rig the 2026 midterm elections. 

Earlier this month, opponents of the gerrymander turned in more than 300,000 petition signatures supporting a referendum vote, a move that historically has triggered state officials to pause the legislation being challenged. 

But Missouri Republicans – as part of a relentless effort to thwart the referendum – have defied precedent, insisting the new map is in effect until the vote takes place. Now, two voters who signed the petition are fighting back in court, arguing that state officials are denying them their state constitutional right to approve or reject legislation through a referendum. 

Both voters are residents of Missouri’s fifth congressional district, the seat targeted in the gerrymander. They are represented in the lawsuit by the ACLU of Missouri and the law firm Perkins Coie.

Candidates will begin to file for a place on the Missouri primary ballot starting in February, and the referendum vote likely won’t be held until November. Gerrymander opponents point out that if state officials are allowed to use the new map until the referendum is held, they will in effect have circumvented the referendum process, at least for 2026, by enacting the gerrymander without voters having an opportunity to stop it. 

In the latest lawsuit, voters argue Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway are implementing a “transparent ploy” to force the use of the new map “until it is too late.” 

“Secretary Hoskins is (wrongly) interpreting the referendum laws to reach an unconstitutional result: denying Missourians their right to approve or reject HB1 at the ballot box,” the complaint said. 

At a media briefing last week, referendum supporters argued Hoskins and Hanaway are defying precedents that were followed by the Republicans who previously held their positions. They pointed to the example of Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who served as state attorney general during a similar 2018 referendum effort over a GOP-backed anti-union law, and who paused the legislation once signatures were submitted.

Mike Wolff, a former Missouri Supreme Court justice, said at the briefing that case law going back to 1914 – shortly after the referendum provision was added to the Missouri constitution – is on the side of the referendum organizers. 

“Once the people present a petition with what, on its face, appears to be a required number of signatures, then the law is suspended,” Wolff said. 

The Missouri gerrymander has sparked a remarkable amount of litigation, including a challenge filed by referendum organizers accusing Hoskins of crafting wildly deceptive ballot language that would tilt the referendum outcome in favor of the new map. A trial in the ballot language case is scheduled for Jan. 16.